Kaleidoscopic
by Sinnclaire
Summary: Their love was like a Kaleidoscope- colorful and ever changing; unpredictable, yet so beautiful at the same time. A Series of One-shots dedicated to the HopeLight pair.
1. Blue Eyes

**A/N**: Hello there everyone~ Welcome to the first chapter of Kaleidoscopic. It was just something I thought about while I was picking a color to paint my nails. Lol.

This is going to be a series of one-shots (which, by the way, may or may not be interrelated with each other; could be AU or not) dedicated to Hope and Lightning! I'll be using colors for Chapter names (thus the title was born. lol) and each color will be representing something. (Could be an emotion, action, or a thing. Anything relating to/symbolizing the color.)

Anyway, sorry for the long author's note and the suckish writing. (I'll get better, promise.) Enjoy!

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><p><strong>KALEIDOSCOPIC<strong>

_Their love was like a Kaleidoscope- colorful and ever changing; unpredictable, yet so beautiful at the same time._

CHAPTER ONE: "Blue."

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><p>It was the start of another day for a certain silver-haired boy and his five companions. A brand new sun was peeking out from the mountain tops on Gran Pulse, and the silence of the previous night was quickly fading away. The Behemoths and the Gorgonopsids could be heard roaring their 'good morning' greetings to each other in the distance, while the Wyverns were already soaring the Pulsian skies in search of potential breakfast. Oh, how lively the beasts of Gran Pulse were, so early in the morning. At the exiled L'Cie campsite, however, the scene was nowhere near lively. Six beds made from large leaves were spread around the remains of burned firewood. On each bed lay one person, all of them varying in sleeping position. But one thing was certain, they were all in deep slumber. Well, except for maybe one.<p>

The pile of leaves in between the beds of Hope Estheim and Sazh Katzroy was empty. This empty bed was supposed to belong to Lightning, but she was not in it. She wasn't around the campsite either. But of course, no one was aware of the soldier girl's absence. Everyone was too busy floating in the sea of dreams, losing themselves in their own fantasies. Everyone aside from a certain fourteen-year-old boy, that is.

Yes, one person seemed to realize that Lightning was, indeed, missing in action. This person tossed and turned in his bed. He was desperately trying to get back to sleep and trying to keep his eyes shut, only to be forced to open them as the sunlight hit him square in the face. He squinted at this, placing his gloved hands in front of him to block the rays of sunlight from his eyes before opening them once again, and turned to his side. That was the very moment he noticed that she was gone. He sat up on his bed when he didn't see any trace of a pair of sparkling blue eyes- and no, the ones he were looking for weren't Snow's- and long pink hair; His green orbs travelling around the campsite in search for even just the slightest hint of the pink-haired soldier.

He caught sight of Sazh and his chocobo sleeping peacefully on his left and turned away, not wanting to disturb them. He then saw Snow in an odd position, lying on his chest as he snored loudly and muttering incoherent sentences to himself. Hope, of course, did not want to wake the sleeping giant. The only time of peace at the camp was when Snow- and maybe, Fang- was asleep. He wanted this peace to last as long as possible, so he ignored Snow and carried on looking for Lightning. Instead, though, he caught sight of another empty bed- Vanille's. This confused him for a moment, until he found the cheery girl sleeping next to Fang on her bed. He decided not to wake them, fearing that Fang might turn him into tonight's dinner if he chose to. So he looked around once more and frowned, only to find that the person he was looking for wasn't anywhere near.  
>Hope gets up on his feet, deciding that he would wander around Vallis Media for a few minutes. Who knows? Maybe he'll come across Lightning in the midst of his little exploration. That, though, motivated him to get going, all the more. So he slowly walked around his friends to check if they really were sleeping. Once he had confirmed that they were indeed, lost in the sea of dreams, he sets off North towards the Fingers of Stone. After evading countless Flans and Alraunes- even managing to defeat some of them on his own- Hope finally reaches his destination. Atzilut's tears, his favourite area in Vallis Media. He smiles, quite proud that he made it on his own, and sits at the water's edge as his eyes drift at the small waterfall linked to the river. He notices a treasure sphere in some dry land on the middle of the water, and was about to try to get to it on his own when he remembers that the sphere was already emptied by Fang, two days ago.<p>

The silver-haired boy remains still at the edge of the water, admiring the sheer beauty of it all- the scenery, the sky, the sounds of the rushing water, everything. He then uses his hands to scoop up some water and splashes it on his face, repeating this a few times before a coconut tree nearby catches his eye. This made him he recall the day he got his Eidolon, Alexander. It was, to him, one of his greatest achievements ever. Yet at the same time, he was quite embarrased that Lightning and the others had to find him collapsed next to the river. But still, she did smile at him that night. He remembered it like it was yesterday, her blue eyes staring into his own as she held up his chin and smiled at him.

"You don't have to go through this ordeal alone, you know,"

He smiles unknowingly as he recalls the soft expression in her piercing blue eyes. He remembers how gentle they were. How those eyes only focused on him that night. He's looked into those eyes so many times, yet only found time to appreciate their striking beauty now. Those eyes that reflected the color of the sky, the blue orbs containing the secrets of the sea; he loved looking into them. The eyes that he thought were cold and heartless when he first looked into them turned out to be the eyes of the woman he was falling in love with. Her eyes were beautiful. She was beautiful.

And someday, she would be his. Someday.

Hope was lost in his own dreams at the moment, even though he was awake. But he couldn't enjoy these fantasies any longer, as a high-pitched sound cut him off- the sound resembling the roar of a Rakshasa. He growls, and turns around in annoyance. How dare they interrupt his little daydreams of Lightning! He scoffs.

But as he stands up and turns around, his eyes widen and he finds himself thrown back into reality. He was in Gran Pulse- a beautiful, naturey, yet monster-infested land which was also known as 'hell' on Cocoon. He was not on his bed. He was alone, and he kind of forgot what the weaknesses of Rakshasa were. And the worst of it all was that three Rakshasa were dancing in front of him, and he was positive that they were out to get him. The best thing he could do now was run and hope that they lose him...or something.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed as he ran past the three monsters. A high-pitched sound came from each of them and they started to dance in his direction. Hope ran faster, and found himself headed towards the Yaschas Massif. He increased his speed, running without looking back to check if they were still on to him. But suddenly, he felt a little stupid and stopped in his tracks. He sighed and slapped his palm against forehead. Nothing was chasing him, and he felt like a total idiot running around the Massif. "Great job, Estheim. Be thankful no one's here to-"

_'Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.'_

Hope froze and his head turned slowly to the right. There stood a Behemoth King, saliva dripping from it's mouth as it growled._ 'Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.'_

"N- now, wait just a- AH!" He jumped as the Behemoth put one foot forward, while he was busy taking slow steps backward in the hopes of escaping. "I- I don't really taste good okay? You know what poop is? The gross stuff that comes out of your bu- YIKES!" He exclaimed as the Behemoth's growl became louder. "Yeah...I taste like that so..." The silver-haired boy froze as he felt his back hit something hard. He was leaning against a wall now, this was the end of his beautiful life. _"Grrrrrrr."_ The Behemoth was only five feet away from him, and he didn't know what to do. He rapidly cast Haste on himself-_ 'Oh, why didn't I think of this earlier?'_ -and began running once again. But even with the Haste spell on him, the Behemoth was still able to catch up to him.

He looked back as he ran, seeing the Behemoth still on his trail, and tried to run faster whilst saying his goodbyes. "Goodbye life. Dad, I'm sorry, I love you. Bye. Sazh, thanks for being there for me, bye. Vanille and Fang thanks too, bye, S- AH!" He jumped, barely managing to evade the Behemoth's claw. "Snow, I used to hate you but you're cool anyway, bye. Light- WHOA!" He came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a cliff, flapping his arms and trying to regain his balance as he did so. Just then, the Behemoth tried to scratch him with it's claw once again and he fell over the edge, but was saved as he barely managed to hang on to a sharp rock. He looked up, the monster was still there, he would die if he tried to climb up. He looked down, but was unable to see anything below. He was certain, though, that if he'd die if he fell.

_'I can't die...Not until after I tell Lightning how much I love her and save Cocoon!'_ He thought and for a second there, he thought he felt the ground bounce, forcing him to look up once again. The Behemoth was hitting the ground with it's claws. "Stupid beast won't give up...ARGH!" He winced in pain as the sharp rock he was holding onto slightly cut his hand. He knew he was near his death.

He closed his eyes. He only had one last wish before taking his last breath- To see those beautiful eyes again; to look into them once more; to be able to stare into them for the last time. He pictured her eyes in his head, smiling as the image of her bright blue orbs formed in his mind.

"Guess this is goodbye, Light. Anyway, I always wanted you to know I really like you...I may even love you and thanks for everything..."

The Behemoth pounded on the ground once more, growling ferociously as it's paw hit the rocky surface, and Hope's hand was slowly slipping off the edge. Then he heard a blade cutting through something, and for a minute, thought that he heard the ferocious beast scream in pain.

"Hope!" A familiar voice rang in his ears and his eyelids shot open. "Take my hand!" He looked down to see that the Behemoth was already falling before him. He looked up, Lightning was reaching out to him. "Hope!" He reached out to her as well, but the cut in his hand grew more painful as he tried to hoist himself up. "AH!" He winced in pain and closed his eyes. "Lightning!"

Next thing he knew, he was falling into the nothingness.

It was much like how his mother, Nora, had died.

"Hope!"

But he could still hear her voice.

"Hope!"

It was like she was right beside him.

"HOPE! For Maker's sake!"

His eyes shot open, and the blue eyes he wanted to see so badly were staring right at him. _'I'm not dead?'_

"Finally...You're a deep sleeper aren't you?" Lightning stood up as the boy began to sit up on his makeshift bed of coconut leaves. "It was just a dream?" He said out loud, running his fingers through his hair and blinking the sleep out of his green eyes.  
>"What was?" Lightning asked.<br>"Nothing!" He smiled as he stood up and headed to her side. "Light, did I ever tell you how beautiful your eyes were?"  
>Lightning looked at him oddly. "No? But thanks anyway..." She said calmly, turning around when she felt her cheeks heat up. "Well if that dream was nothing, let's get going. Fang and the others are at the springs right now. They'll leave us behind if we don't get going," the pink-haired lady said, leading the way to the nearest waystone.<br>Hope, slightly disappointed by how the lady took his compliment, sighed and followed quickly. "Okay..."

Lightning was about to touch the waystone, but she stopped and turned to him before doing so.

"By the way, Hope...What was that earlier about goodbye?"

The color drained from Hope's face._ 'I said that out loud?'_

"W- what are you talking about, Light?" He laughed nervously.

"You said goodbye, and that you liked me and might even lo-"

Hope didn't allow her to finish her sentence, he took the initiative and touched the waystone quickly. And when they arrived at the Sulyya Springs, he swiftly ran off into the entrance, not allowing Lightning to question him.

The pink-haired soldier stared at the entrance with an odd look on her face, her eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips.

"That was weird."

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><p>How was it? Hahaha.<p>

Concrit and reviews are greatly welcomed.

_P.S. Help me think of something for the color Green, please? Something other than Hope's eyes. Haha._


	2. Green Eyes

**A/N: **Chapter Two. Thanks for your suggestions. :D And sorry for taking eternity to update. There was a lot going on lol. (Lots of games to play rofl rofl. I'm not done with AC:Revelations and FFXIII-2, and I'm reading Mockingjay but oh well, school's almost done.) Oh, and if you recognize a name, I borrowerd it and it's from one of the shocking fragments you get from Captain Cryptic about Hope. Trololol. And as you can see, the title of this chapter is the same as the title of the first, save for the color. But I promise they have totally different meanings! Hee. :D

**No Spoilers** for Final Fantasy XIII-2 **please**. I haven't finished yet, and a lot of people haven't either, I guess. Heee~

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><p><strong>KALEIDOSCOPIC<strong>

_Their love was like a Kaleidoscope- colorful and ever changing; unpredictable, yet so beautiful at the same time._

CHAPTER TWO: "Green Eyes."

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><p>"No, we're just friends, " Hope and Lightning repeated for the millionth time that day.<p>

The old couple that asked if they were together smiled at them in response as they turned around to walk away. Weird that they asked, Lightning thought. Normally people would just conclude that they were together since they're two people of the opposite sex having lunch together and laughing like there's no tomorow. Then the next thing you know, you just kind of hear chatter about them dating. It was annoying, yet somewhat flattering, those questions about them being together. But Lightning was somewhat thankful for them, since she's being presented with the opportunity to straighten things out before weird rumors begin to spread. This always happened every time she and Hope "bonded" or went out "as friends." She didn't mind it though. She couldn't say no to him.

And here she is still, sitting across from him in a red, strapless, cotton dress that her younger sister lent her and forced her to wear. She was even wearing that light pink lipstick Serah made her put on. She protested, of course, saying that her lips had enough color. Her sister paid no mind. She must really love them together. Eveyone must really love them together, or not. Plus, Lightning was sure she heard the lady say something that sounded like _'you two would make beautiful children,'_ but she ignored the thought and turned to the silver-haired boy who was sitting right in front of her. He was appily taking a bite out of the all-meat pizza slice he held in his hand, as if he didn't hear what the lady said a while ago; Or maybe he was just so used to hearing it that he didn't really care anymore.

Lightning knew he wasn't that kind of boy, though. The pink-haired soldier remembered everything that happened between the two of them. She had no regrets in meeting him. And somehow she was happy that he followed her back then at the Vile Peaks- that he didn't give up when she told him to leave her alone a thousand times. She knew him more than anyone. She knew this boy more than he knew himself, herself even. After all, he was the boy she'd been through so much with- the boy who somehow became the reason for her change. He was the man who could make her into 'Claire' again- the one who was able to bring out the best in her, every single time, in every single way. He was the boy she'd draw her gunblade out for. He was the one she made a promise to protect. He, in return, promised to look out for her as well. They were partners, after all.

But after everything they've been through, Lightning still couldn't help but think how ridiculous it would be if they became a couple.

It made her wonder what Hope thought about this, but she thought that he'd probably have the same sentiments as she did.

_'Just friends,'_ The pink-haired lady thought to herself as she bit into her own pizza, stealing one more glance at the eighteen year-old that sat inches from where she was. He's grown so much. In fact, to Lightning, he was the type of guy she would want to marry someday. She didn't really think that much about marriage, or love in general. There was absolutely no time for her to be flirting with those buff soldiers back at the corps. She thought of them as comrades, possibly brothers, but nothing more. Besides, she knew she'd probably scare all her suitors off before they even got to the front of her house. She was entirely different from her younger sister, Serah, who was nice and charming and all that. But of all the guys that came to the Farrons' house with flowers for her sister- the ones, of course, that didn't cower away when they saw Lightning- Serah just had to pick that idiot, Snow.

Lightning never liked Snow. She thought of the blonde man as unworthy from the moment she laid eyes on him. Of course, all that changed when she saw how much he really loved her sister. The truth is, he was the only one who believed in Serah from the beginning. Even Lightning didn't believe that her sister was a L'cie, a fact that she regretted a lot. But letting Serah marry the oaf? That she did not regret one bit. The only thing is, now that Serah and Snow are married, Serah had been bothering Lightning 24/7 about getting a date since she's been single for like, ever. Lightning of course, only pretended to listen when Serah would tell her that she knew a nice guy who was whatever. She never really cared-or knew- much about men and romance. How are you supposed to feel when you're in love, anyway?

Like she knew.

Maybe the boy in front of her would let her know how it feels to be loved.

Maybe Serah's right that it is a bit embarassing/surprising for a woman of her age- who's got just as much love to give as the amount charisma, beauty and fearlessness she possesses- to still be single.

Or maybe...

_'No,'_ Lightning shook her head and blinked her eyes. Impossible. That is completely absurd.

Lightning Farron is** NOT** in love.

"Uh, Light?" The silver-haired boy snapped his fingers in front of her, worry crossing his gentle features. "Are you alright?" He asked. Well, she did look pretty weird just staring into nothing and suddenly shaking her head. She stared at him for a moment, her blue eyes prying into his own green. No words came out of either one's mouth, but their eyes seemed to be doing all the talking. She breaks the eye contact to adore his looks and laughs internally at her failure to notice earlier how handsome he looked in his blue cardigan. Her eyes then move back up, focusing on his face. He's got one eyebrow raised now.  
>"Huh? What? Oh yeah...I'm great," She replies with the warm smile she reserved only for him. Hope just smiled back at her. Does this mean...?<p>

_'Etro, how alone am I? The only person I can turn to for love advice without feeling ridiculous, is myself,'_ she thinks.

She examines the boy sitting across from her. He wasn't a bad catch, wasn't he? Tall, intelligent, handsome and tough. Understanding too- just what she needed.

Hmmmm...

Still no.

Lightning Farron is _**NOT**_ in love.

But the way she looked into his deep, emerald eyes and the way she smiled at him would make anybody think otherwise. Even the biggest idiot in the world could tell. There was definitely something happening between the two of them. There was definitely some sort of weird connection, a weird aura that surrounded them whenever they were together. Could it be that-

Nevermind.

"Hello? Light?" The silver-haired boy waves his hands in front of her blue eyes slowly and snaps his fingers- like those magician whatsamacallits do on TV when they try to wake someone from a trance. Lightning blinks a few times, finding herself staring into the deep green once again. She suddenly wonders why Hope doesn't have a girlfriend yet.

_'What the hell's he waiting for?'_ Lightning screams in her mind. She answers her own questions with high doubts that Hope is waiting for her, but she still hangs on to the possibility. She looks around the room, and reality hits her square in the face. Hope's been staring at her for a few minutes now. A weird expression crossed his features- somehow he still manages to stay good-looking- as he waits for Lightning to put an end to her inner monologue. Lightning's cheeks color themselves a slight pink as she mutters a small sorry to the boy. He replies to her apology with a laugh. And what Lightning fears, but knows will come next, happens.  
>"So, Light," he says as he puts his drink on the table. "What was that you were thinking about?"<p>

Of course he would ask about what's been keeping her preoccupied for the last, say, 10 minutes or so. She didn't like keeping things from him, but there is no way she would tell him about this stupid embarassing inner monologue about being in love.

And of course Hope respected Lightning a lot. But if she didn't tell him, she wouldn't get off the hook so easily.

"Stuff," she replies casually, trying to hide the embarassment in her voice. She was best at things like this anyway.

Hope rolls his eyes playfully and replies, "Okay," in a strange tone. Lightning know this means that she'll have to tell him before either of them dies. Maybe she will someday, or maybe she won't. God, she hated this. She felt like a stupid hopeless romantic teenage girl. She's a soldier, for crying out loud. What the hell's she doing thinking about sissy stuff.

"Well, if you're done, we can go now...Unless you wanna stay for a bit..." Hope trails of. He isn't sure if Lightning is listening to him, seeing the expression on her face from a few seconds ago has returned and her inner monologue has began once again.

Lightning, howeever, gets up on her feet before Hope even thinks about it, and says, "Alright then, let's go."

The pink-haired soldier is already walking out of the fast-food resto, and Hope stumbles as he gets up on his feet to try and catch up with her. He calls out for her to wait, but she just turns around a little, enough to reveal the smirk that she now wore on her face. The silver-haired boy sighs jokingly and loudly, hoping that she actually heard him. He takes off in her direction with his hands in his pockets.

He finally catches up with her just as she's standing about seven feet from the entrance of the restaurant.

"Lightning!" He jogs casually up to her as he rolls the sleeves of his cardigan up to his elbows. The lady turns around and smiles as she recognizes the owner of the voice. Lightning finds Hope waving at her as he's headed her way.

"Wait up!" He laughs, and so does she. It's like that time in the Vile Peaks, on Cocoon, years ago. The four of them- Sazh, Vanille, Hope, and Lightning- went their separate ways upon landing in the Vile Peaks with the help of Sazh's awesome piloting skills. Lightning ran off on her own, thinking at the time that the others would just get in her way. Hope was the only one who gathered up the courage to follow her and pleaded with her to let him stay no matter how many times he was pushed aside. How far would he have gone just to chase her?

The way he jogged in front of her this very moment reminds her of that time exactly.

"Thought you'd never catch up," she said as he finally came to a stop beside her. He looked at her and smiled. Then somehow, Lightning felt a strange mix of feelings brewing inside of her. It didn't show in her confused eyes, or the warm smile that she threw back at him. She just didn't know what the feeling was. All she knew is that it wasn't a bad feeling. Nope, not at all.

"Shall we?" Hope interrupted- or rather, penetrated- her thoughts once more and gestured towards the exit of the mall. Lightning just gave a small nod and smiled.

And so they walked side-by-side, Hope's hands were concealed in the pockets of his grey jeans and Lightning's hanging stiffly at her sides. Neither of them dared to break the silence that almost completely engulfed the both of them. Lightning walked with her head down, thoughts straying from her reality- which was made up mostly of Hope's actions at present- and her fantasy- which is also about said boy. Hope walked casually, his eyes shifting and his fingers tapping against the fabric inside his jeans impatiently. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and a smile found it's way to his face. It appears that someone has called her name.

"Hey, Light," he said to her, "Wait here for a bit, okay?"

She nodded, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she headed over to window shop clothes at the nearest store. The name? Well, that she didn't even bother to take a look at. She looked closely at the clothes, or at least pretended to. She rolled her eyes in disgust, frilly dresses and ribbons are totally not her style. So, she turned away from the store, eyes already searching for her companion the moment she whipped her head around. Hope, on the other hand, was already embracing someone tightly when Lightning turned around to end her five-second window shopping.

"Who the hell is_ that_?" Lightning growled in a low voice.

Fire was burning in her deep blue eyes, and her lips twisted into a grimace. Her teeth were gritted inside her mouth and her fists were clenched at her sides. Who the hell is that woman? What the hell is she doing hugging my partner? How in blazing, burning, inferno do they know each other? The questions were endless in her mind. But the one of the more important questions she needed to ask herself was_, 'Why the hell do I care so much?'_

Why did she?

She pondered over the question as she leaned against the concrete near the shop she was checking out a while ago.

Hope was just a friend. That's what he's supposed to be.

Is being angry when other people hug your 'friend' normal?

_"No. But it is normal for lovers!"_ Serah's voice rang in her head, putting emphasis on the word 'lovers.'_ "Oh, my dear Claire~"_ she coaxed.

Her internal monologue was now turning into a dialogue.

_"You're just jealous. Everybody feels it. It's normal and it just means you're in l-"_

_'No way.'_ Lightning shook her head vigorously. They was no way in whatever-place-was-worse-than-hell she was in love with Hope. End of story.

_"Denying won't help you~_" Her sister's voice resounded inside her head, giggling and saying a whole lot of random stuff about love that Lightning just passed off as nonsense. Lightning turned to look at Hope again, and this time he was conversing with the woman- laughning and smiling and whatnot, like there's no freaking tomorrow.

The pink-haired soldier's eyes narrowed in on the lady. She was young, probably Hope's age, and had her long, auburn hair falling in loose curls on her sides. Her eyes were blue- like Lightning's own eyes- only it was a few shades darker than her own. She donned a black round neck sweater which was tucked in her denim shorts, a gold rucksack hanging on her left shoulder.

She looked at Hope and the woman intensely and was shock to later find them both looking back at her. She tried to act normal, although she didn't know what the hell they were looking at her for. Then she noticed Hope waving, although she didn't know where he was directing his gaze at. She looked behind her, left and right, feeling stupid after realizing there was nothing but the wall. She then assumed he was calling her attention, and looked towards him with a surprised, quizzical look. She jerked her thumb in the direction of her chest, and mouthed the word, _"Me?_" to which the silver-haired boy nodded.

Lightning sighed and walked towards Hope and the woman casually, trying her best not to look angry or jealous. She stopped in front of the two of them, but before she could open her mouth to utter any words, Hope introduced her to the woman.

"Hey, so this is Lightning," he turned to the blonde lady who in turn looked at Lightning. The pink-haired soldier tried her best to smile genuinely, but all that she could manage was an awkwardly fake smile. Nonetheless, the girl smiled back at her.

"Elida," she said before Hope could even mention her name, and extended her hand in front of Lightning's. "Elida Karmic," she throws out a smile, this time revealing her sparkling white teeth, as Lightning takes her hand and reluctantly gives it a shake.

"Hope and I go way back, we we're classmates in middle school," she says casually, as if it's no big deal. But to Lightning it was, really, she just didn't show it. She spent years trying to perfect the kill-my-feelings look. Her walls are not just about to break in front of Hope and this friend of his.

"Yeah," Hope confirms. "I used to like her, actually," He jokes. Elida punches his shoulder. Lightning clenches her fists tightly and rolls her eyes, which are thankfully covered by her bangs. It's like a dart was shot, with the needle piercing through her skin. The unknown feeling that entered her system was like poison, painfully irritating poison, and it was spreading throughout her body like wildfire. The more she saw that girl- Karmic, was it?- the more the mixed feelings of rage and sadness began to burn inside of her.

Lightning didn't really want to pay attention to them, though she heard every word they uttered throughout the entire conversation. The only time she bothered to shake her hair off her face was when she head Karmic say she had to go. Something lit up inside of Lightning, she didn't know what, all she knew was she was happy to see this girl walk away.

She happilly waved the woman goodbye, with a genuine smile this time. Her eyes shifted over to her side and she saw Hope waving to the woman as well. She turned her attention back to the lady who was far enough by now, that if Lightning ever decided to say something stupid, she wouldn't be able to hear. She had a smug expression on her face as she watched Elida Karmic walk away from where they stood, close to the parking lot of the mall. Her expression changed though, when she heard his voice.

"Hey, let's go, Light," Hope smiled as he led her to the parking lot, outside the doors, and then to the car.

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><p>The walk to their vehicle was painfully, agonizingly slow and the silence almost killed either one of them. The only thing they could both hear was the chatter of civilians entering and exiting, the starting of engines and the slamming of car doors.<p>

They were only feet away from Hope's car. It sort of relieved him, since he couldn't bear another minute listening to just their footsteps and other people's voices. He fumbled for the keys in his pockets and unlocked the car before assisting Lightning to her usual seat in the front seat of his car.

Hope started the engine and glanced over at Lightning, who was still not talking to him. He couldn't tell how much more of the silence he could bear. The silver-haired boy kept stealing glances at the girl beside him as he drove the car out of the parking lot and onto the road.

And he finally decided to speak when he concluded that he couldn't take another minute of nothing.

"Hey, Light," he started out slowly, wanting to, but not taking his eyes off the road. "Are you alright?" he gulped nervously as he anticipated her answer.  
>To that she replied a short, "No," but Hope didn't buy it.<br>"Are you mad?" he asked. He didn't have to, though. He already knew something was annoying her. He just needed confirmation.  
>But the same thing was said. "No," she said without even turning her head. Yes, she was mad. 'Girls,' he thinks.<br>"Okay..." Hope trailed off as he stepped on the gas.

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><p>He waited for her to speak to him about whatever she was thinking about, but no words came and she didn't show any signs of wanting to share anything with him at the moment. He then gave a light chuckle as he rounded a corner on the street.<p>

"What's so funny?" Lightning finally spoke as she turned to Hope, who shook his head in reply but continued to bite his lips as if to show that he was biting back smiles. "What is it?" Lightning says, annoyed this time.  
>Hope glances at her, then back at the road, wondering if he should tell her what he thought was going on. If she got mad, it would mean the end of the world. But then again, she was never made at Hope, was she?<p>

"Hope." Lightning crosses her arms this time and when he turns to her for a brief moment, raises her eyebrows.

"Okay, okay," he laughs. "But you have to promise not to get mad," he said. She nodded.

He licks his upper lip and bites his lower in preparation for whats in store, and stops in front of Lightning's house to drop her off.

"You're jealous of Elida Karmic, aren't you?" he giggles.

* * *

><p>Lightning got home that day with her face tinted a deep pink, making her sister Serah all the more suspicious and somewhat happy about her and a certain silver-haired man.<p>

And Hope? Well, he got home with a bruise on his left cheek.

_And a lipstick mark on the other._


End file.
